Before You Click “Send”
Face it, HR send hundreds of emails every year. And most employees don’t even take the time to read them, right? But have you stopped to think about the communications you send out?
The next time you send an email to your employees, take a few minutes to review it and ask yourself these questions that I’ve used to help “clean up” internal emails.
- Is my distribution list appropriate for the message? You might be able to create a custom distribuion list (“DL”) using a report from your HR system and help from your IT partners. If your only choice is to send the message to “all employees” when the target audience is 401(k) participants, for example, start your email with “To: Our Company’s 401(k) Participants”
- Are the grammar and spelling correct? I’ve sent emails to “Mangers” before. It’s embarrassing. Don’t be afraid to ask someone else to review your email before you send it. Set up the email and send a test to a co-worker to review.
- Is the email short and to the point? Employees are busy. Managers are busy. The email about processing payroll deductions is critical (to you and the IRS), but not when an employee is closing a deal or helping a customer. Omit the background and history. Tell the employee the basics of what they need to know and why it’s important that they know it. Period.
- Is it “ez” to read? Employees are busy. Managers are busy. They don’t have time to wade through the HR lingo and legal mumbo-jumbo. Short sentences, short paragraphs and simple language are easiest understand with a quick read.
- Did I omit all CAPITAL LETTERS and multi-colored fonts? I hesitated to list this tip because I think everyone knows email “best practices,” but when you’re trying to get someone’s attention, it’s easy to slip into bad habits. These attention-grabbing techniques are irritating and akin to yelling at your audience. Treat your readers with respect and DROP THE CAPS.
- What’s my subject line? The subject line is one way your readers decide whether to read your email, so choose your words thoughtfully. When your email asks the recipient to take action, try starting the subject line with “ACTION REQUIRED:.” (I think caps in subject lines are acceptable since you don’t have the option for bold letters.)
While you can’t make your audience read your emails, you can make your emails easy to read. Chances are, you’ll get a few more readers.
